Take up their cross and follow me

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

 

Words cannot describe how difficult it is to believe rightly in Jesus. For no one can believe in Jesus just by own will. That is a peculiar characteristic of faith to Christ. Christ, a mysterious being of ‘paradox’ ‘miracle’ ‘super-reality’, was born in the world as son of man. He is God in the origin, but He became a son of man for human salvation. Even the disciples did not understand what the purpose Christ had is. So Peter couldn’t be silently without wording when he heard about the hardships, death and resurrection Jesus would go through. Peter’s perception was partially laying under the influence by Satan that time.

 

Jesus’ advent on this earth was the event of supernatural miracle. Would it be possible in reason that God had become a man? Would it be true that a virgin who hadn’t known a man gave birth to a son? And how do we accept, the person who had been dead was again alive in three days? Differently to those reasonable doubts, in reality, Christ Jesus had become the son of man even though the Son of God. He was born as a baby Jesus through the body of a virgin, Maria. Also, Jesus Christ resurrected in three days after the execution of the cross, and a while later was ascended to the heaven. Like that, Jesus showed supernatural several appearances of Himself to people.

The reason why Christ went through directly such a process of human life in the world was to save all people through own life and death. But when Peter heard Jesus had said about a death and etc, Peter dissuaded Jesus this, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” To see in general view, how praiseworthy is Peter’s dissuasion for the sake of his teacher’s safety? To be strange, however, Peter had to hear severe reproach by the Lord. Jesus’ reproach was outwardly directed at Peter, but in fact it was a thing given to Satan, which worked in Peter’s inner. People might say commonly the cases this about that, “Isn’t that same to what it is? What’s the difference?” Jesus said to Peter because of the Peter’s answer, and if Jesus’ reproach is not a thing directed at Peter, isn’t it rather strange? But if one is a true believer in God, he should also know to understand and to analyze what the nature of the spiritual subjects that work inside oneself. Because among the words that come out of our mouth are not only by the Holy Spirit but also things influenced by Satan. Human thinking has to be also like that under same principle. Therefore, we always need to have spiritual eyes to look carefully at the inner of oneself.

The faith life following Jesus does not proceed only on the comfortable way. So, it is not easy for a person who has not yet opened spiritual eyes mature to fully understand faith. To interpret by Jesus’ parable, it is like a seed which had been sowed on the field of stones. On the other hand, seeds sowed on the good earth will bear fruit faithfully. In spiritual understanding, A good plant grown in a good earth is like a case of a faith man of denying oneself and taking its own cross. That might hear like a little strange paradox. But the paradoxical principle of faith is that if one loses one’s life for Christ’s sake, the person will have a true life. Many people spend their whole lives vain trying to gain financial wealth and physical pleasure. Then they end the life without getting a true life of eternity that they have to have.

We need to take a wisdom to perceive what is more important and what is less important in life. Through parents, kindergarten and school, we have various kinds of things to learn from an early age. People should learn social life, natural science, mechanical engineering, etc. and later they become good social workers, technologists, political leaders, etc. However, there is an area of learning where many people pay little attention. Unfortunately, about the matter of human existence and soul, most of people try neither teach nor learned.

 

If so really, although people would attain good results in the development of politics, science, and society, they could never have a happy life. If men look at the world with the eyes of materialism, their soul will run out and will be ruined forever after all. The closer the end of the world, such the unhappy phenomenon will be worse more and more. Overcoming the difficulties, controlling the bodily desire toward Satan’s sound, if follow Christ with the cross according to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we will feel enjoy a real life of peace and victory.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Mar 28th 2021)